After coming out of the room, Daneel paused and once again tried to take control of his thoughts.
Yet, a message in his mind from Kellor interrupted him.
"My King, they're still waiting. Shall I postpone the meeting?"
Just before he had gotten the message from Sister Xuan that Eloise was waking up, Daneel had been in the middle of a very important meeting.
Deciding to put aside Sister Xuan's matter for now, Daneel said, "No. I'm on my way now."
Quickly getting to a large meeting room, Daneel walked inside and smiled wide before saying, "I had to handle something urgent. Now, let us get back to our discussion. Where was I?"
Assembled in front of him were over 50 people who were all the owners of the largest establishments in Lanthanor which sold things to the public.
One of them, who was decked out in multiple enchanted clothes that looked luxurious, said, "You were saying that you had a way to significantly improve our sales."
Clapping his hands, Daneel answered, "Oh yes! So, what is the major problem that is stopping you from expanding your businesses and taking them to the next level?"
This was definitely a matter that was always on their minds, so an answer appeared quickly enough.
"Money."
Hearing the answer, Daneel only shook his head and said, "Money is a problem, but not THE problem."
With these words, his intention became clear.
Hence, 4 people answered simultaneously.
"Customers."
"Exactly! I've called you all here because there is an excellent opportunity waiting for you if you are looking to expand your businesses and obtain more customers. Have you heard of the event that is going to take place in the Black Raven Kingdom soon?"
One of those in the group, who had a long white beard and seemed older than most was the one to answer this time.
"The Olympics. Yes, I've heard about it, and I also wanted to ask Your Highness whether the story behind it is really true. And of course, because I was curious to find out what that man's words were."
Daneel chuckled at this.
"Then you'll have to come to the games like everyone else! This event will be one which will have more spectators than any other in the last 100 years. If you wish to obtain customers, then this is the place to go to. Now, the only question remaining is how much you're willing to pay to get those customers."
With talk about payment coming up, almost all the eyes in the room narrowed, knowing that it was now the time for the true negotiations.
As businessmen, they knew just how valuable this opportunity was. In fact, many had planned to approach the King regarding this anyway.
Seeing this, Daneel smiled inwardly.
From his experiences on Earth, he knew very well that advertising was one of the biggest revenue generating tools in history. He already had an event in his hands which would be attended by hundreds of thousands of people, so it would be foolish to not use the opportunity to earn some money which would go a long way in both developing Lanthanor and furthering his other schemes.
Of course, the prime focus of the advertising was still his two schemes: the Network of Angaria and the Bank of Angaria.
Hence, it was now time to fleece all these people as much as possible before giving them the other spots.
Beside Daneel stood Kellor, who nodded at the King as he realized that it was his turn.
Taking a step forward, Kellor said, "There are multiple opportunities, and if you want something, you are going to have to bid for it. First up, the opportunity to be the establishment which will be in charge of providing alcohol to the spectators…"
As the raucous bidding began, Daneel smiled again before making his way out of the door.
This event would be the culmination of his efforts to increase the satisfaction level, and it would also be the cash cow which he would milk as much as possible so that he could fund his future plans.
All the individuals inside the room were those who were bidding to provide their services and increase their number of customers by serving the spectators.
Yet, there was one more aspect that was very important.
Team branding.
For this, Daneel had set up another meeting.
Walking to a small meeting room nearby, Daneel saw two familiar people.
They were Helena and Dalia, who stood up with respect as they saw the King arrive.
"Sit, sit! Both of you are famous and rich now! With the success of your products, maybe you will become important enough that you won't have to show respect to the King, like those in the other room who know that I need them."
When they had been escorted to the room where they had been sitting till now, Helena and Dalia had seen the famous individuals who really did have haughty attitudes as if they were doing the King a favor by accepting his invitation.
Their confidence stemmed from the fact that they were very vital for each and every Kingdom to maintain the economy.
Hurriedly, Helena replied, "My King! Everything we have today is because of you, and we are forever indebted. That is why our logo is also that of Lanthanor. We will never forget our roots, and we will also be giving most of our profits to the Palace so that it can help others who are struggling like we used to."
Hearing this, Daneel sighed happily while wishing that there were more people like this in his Kingdom.
Industrious, hard-working, and also, most importantly, loyal.
"I know, I was just testing, and that is not necessary. I have a proposition for you two, and it will cause your establishment to become famous throughout the continent. In return, the only thing I ask is that you base yourself in Lanthanor and provide jobs to the citizens of this Kingdom."
"Of course, my King! No matter how good of an offer I get, I would never even consider moving to a different Kingdom. Lanthanor is my home, and my life will be spent giving back to this great nation."
"Good. You already know that Lanthanor and the Black Raven Kingdom will be competing against each other in a major event that is going to happen soon. It is your establishment that is in charge of making the uniforms for all the teams, and you will also be the one brand that will be displayed for everyone to see on the uniforms of the team which will be playing the game that will definitely make a mark in the memories of the people of Angaria. Mark my words, after the event, you will be completely flooded with orders. In that regard, the Bank of Angaria is open to you again to fund your expansion. Because you are our maiden businesswoman, the interest rate is still the same with no changes. I need your assurance that you will be able to manage the establishment even if it grows that large. To that effect, I also have some ideas which might be useful to you if you want to ensure quality in the manufacturing process, and I also have ways which will make sure that you have no problem in delivering your goods to customers no matter where they are. In other words, I am saying that your establishment can join with the Lanthanor Kingdom to bring profit to both. What do you say?"
Hearing this long speech from Daneel, both Helena and Dalia were initially shocked.
They had indeed heard about the Olympics, which was being advertised day and night on the Network. Spectators would really be in the hundreds of thousands, and they would go back to their Kingdoms and tell others about what they saw.
As for the final offer of collaborating with the Kingdom of Lanthanor, both the mother and daughter's eyes had lit up on hearing it.
Both of them only felt absolute adoration for the King and this Kingdom, and now that they had a chance to work with it closely, they jumped to it without any hesitation.
"We would be honored, my King. Thank you. Thank you so much!"
"Hmm? Agreeing so easily, without even asking me specific details about the percentages and trying to negotiate?", Daneel asked, feeling slightly guilty that he might be using his image to push people into making decisions.
"Whatever they are, we're happy with them, My King. We will not pass up this opportunity. Thank you."
Once again nodding happily, Daneel said, "No, thank you for being such model citizens of this Kingdom. Eloise will be in touch with you soon with the details. Farewell for now."
Getting up, Daneel received their bows and walked out, feeling very satisfied with himself.
Was this how CEOs of multi-national companies felt back on Earth when they cracked multiple deals? He wondered, before stopping in his tracks on seeing that Molan was standing in the corridor he was walking in, as if waiting to talk to him.